March 2003

28 March 2003 In an unexpected U-turn, the FIA has decided to postpone the ban of electronic driver aids to the start of the 2004 season. The ban was supposed to come into effect with the British GP at Silverstone, scheduled for the 20th of July. The FIA cited the arbitration proceedings brought against the F1 ruling body by Williams and McLaren as reason for the decision. A statement released today by FIA said that the technical devices which can ensure the absence of driver aids (in particular launch control, traction control and fully-automatic gearboxes) require substantial investment. The FIA is reluctantto commit the necessary resources until actual or threatened arbitration proceedings have been resolved. FIA will still use the current techniques to make sure that teams do not cheat in 2004, should the arbitration proceedings not be resolved by the start of next season. If the current uncertainties have not been resolved before the deadline for ordering the technical devices for 2004, the competing teams will be required to demonstrate the absence of driver aids to the satisfaction of the stewards at each event of the 2004 and subsequent championships.

27 March 2003 Bernie Ecclestone has criticised the new one-lap qualifying, calling it "horrible" and saying that all the excitement has been taken out of it because the drivers cannot push to the limit. Asked whether there are any chances that the qualifying system could be changed this season, he answered to wait and see. He also said that he does not believe that the new qualifying system is working. Max Mosley is meeting up with the teams on the 11th of April to evaluate possible changes to the rules.

25 March 2003 The FIA has confirmed that the HANS device must be worn during GPs. If drivers cannot use the HANS device for medical reasons (such as it happened to Barrichello and Wilson in the Malaysian GP), the team must replace the driver.

24 March 2003 Minardi driver Justin Wilson has been released from the Kuala Lumpur hospital where he was taken following the trapped nerve that he suffered during yesterday's Malaysian GP. The blame for Wilson's problem has been put on the new HANS device, which is compulsory from this year and which came loose in the Minardi driver's case. The belts of the HANS device started rattling after coming loose and forced Wilson's shouders to bang against the cockpit, causing intense pain. Wilson, who has had several pain-killer injections, is confident that he will be fit for racing in Brazil in two weeks time.

23 March 2003 M. Schuamcher took himself and Trulli out of the competition for the lead right at the start, when he clipped the back of the Italian's Renault and caused several cars to be involved, earning himself a drive-through penalty. Alonso got and held the lead, but it was Räikkönen to bring home the victory, followed by Barrichello and Alonso, the first time a Spanish driver has ever got a podium finish. Coulthard's usual bad luck struck as the Scot retired on lap three with electronics problems. The full race report is now available.

Malaysian GP results:

1. Raikkonen (McLaren) in 1h32'22"195 (average 201.629 Km/h) 2. Barrichello (Ferrari) a 39"286 3. Alonso (Renault) a 1'04"007 4. R. Schumacher (Williams) a 1'28"026 5. Trulli (Renault) +1 lap 6. M. Schumacher (Ferrari) +1 lap 7. Button (BAR) +1 lap 8. Heidfeld (Sauber) +1 lap 9. Frentzen (Sauber) +1 lap 10. Firman (Jordan) +1 lap 11. Da Matta (Toyota) +1 lap 12. Montoya (Williams) +3 laps 13. Verstappen (Minardi) +4 laps

22 March 2003 The new qualifying system did its job in Malaysia and scrambled the starting grid. For the first time ever, a Spaniard is in pole position. Fernando Alonso, who at 21 also is the youngest driver ever to obtain a pole position, clocked a time halfway through the session that all the following drivers failed to beat. His feat is even more remarkable that it appears, considering that the young Spaniard is suffering from flu and was running a fever during the qualifying session. His team mate Trulli was just behind, making the first row a all-Renault affair. The Renault team tomorrow will enjoy not only their first pole position since they came back to the sport, but also their first one-two at the front of the starting grid. Instrumental to Renault's success was a low fuel load but also, and more importantly, the Michelin tyres that were clearly superior to the Bridgestone in the hot sticky weather. With the hot weather and the monsoon promising some rain tomorrow, Renault might just do better in the GP than everybody expects them to.

M. Schumacher, who until today had been the only one ever to enjoy pole positions in Malaysia since the Sepang facility was opened in 1999, had to content himself with third place on the grid, while team mate Barrichello slipped down one row to fifth. Coulthard, winner of the opening GP of the season in Australia, will be on the second row alongside M. Schumacher, while his team mate Räikkönen is down in seventh place. Williams did not enjoy a good qualifying session, with Montoya down in eighth place and R. Schumacher failing to do better than 17th after apparently suffering more problems trying to keep the car on the track. The German was visibly upset by his session and refused to talk to anybody, including his own mechanics, in the pits. Sauber can not complain, with Heidfeld stretegically placed ahead of Räikkönen, though Frentzen is down all the way to 13th. It could have been a better session for Jordan though. Fisichella could only qualify in 14th place, but Ralph Firman will be the last driver on the grid. Toyota took the 10th and 11th slots and BAR's Button, in ninth place, left his not-much-loved team mate Villeneuve behind in the 12th slot.

Malaysian GP Saturday qualifying times:

1 ALONSO Renault 1m37.044s (average 205.626 Km/h) 2 TRULLI Renault 1m37.217s 3 M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m37.393s 4 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m37.454s 5 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m37.579s 6 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas 1m37.766s 7 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes 1m37.858s 8 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m37.974s 9 BUTTON BAR Honda 1m38.073s 10 PANIS Toyota 1m38.094s 11 DA MATTA Toyota 1m38.097s 12 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m38.289s 13 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas 1m38.291s 14 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford 1m38.416s 15 PIZZONIA Jaguar 1m38.516s 16 WEBBER Jaguar 1m38.624s 17 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m38.789s 18 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth 1m40.417s 19 WILSON Minardi Cosworth 1m40.599s 20 FIRMAN Jordan Ford 1m40.910s

21 March 2003 M. Schumacher and Barrichello were fastest in the first qualifying round, used to determine the reverse order of Saturday qualifying. Montoya was third fastest, almost a second behind M. Schumacher, but his team mate R. Schumacher was down in 13th place after seemingly having serious handling problems. McLaren drivers Räikkönen and Coulthard clocked times just slower than Montoya. Jaguar's Pizzonia could not even start the engine of his car and failed to post a time.

Malaysian GP Friday qualifying times:

1. M. Schumacher (Ferrari) 1'34"980 (average 210.095 km/h) 2. Barrichello (Ferrari) 1'35"681 3. Montoya (Williams-BMW) 1'35"939 4. Räikkönen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1'36"038 5. Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) 1'36"297 6. Trulli (Renault) 1'36"301 7. Heidfeld (Sauber-Ferrari) 1'36"407 8. Frentzen (Sauber-Ferrari) 1'36"615 9. Button (BAR-Honda) 1'36"632 10. Alonso (Renault) 1'36"693 11. Da Matta (Toyota) 1'36"706 12. Fisichella (Jordan-Ford) 1'36"759 13. R. Schumacher (Williams-BMW) 1'36"805 14. Panis (Toyota) 1'36"995 15. J. Villeneuve (BAR-Honda) 1'37"585 16. Webber (Jaguar-Cosworth) 1'37"669 17. Firman (Jordan-Ford) 1'38"240 18. Verstappen (Minardi-Cosworth) 1'38"904 19. Wilson (Minardi-Cosworth) 1'39"354 20. Pizzonia (Jaguar-Cosworth) no time

20 March 2003 Max Mosley is set to miss the second GP of the season. The FIA president gave no reason why he is not travelling to Malaysia and will miss the scheduled Thursday conference in which he was due to discuss the new Formula 1 rules.

20 March 2003 A group of drivers, led by M. Schumacher, said that the show must go on despite the start of the Iraq war. Tiger Wood was supposed to paly golf in Dubai and cancelled it, M. Schumacher said, but in his case it was just one person's decision. Formula 1 is a larger structure with a number of parties involved. Only Max Mosley can take the decision to cancel a GP. He then compared the mood in the paddock to the sombre atmosphere after the terror attack on New York on 11 September 2001.

20 March 2003 M. Schumacher has denied rumours that Ferrari is trying to cut down his pay. The current World Champion, who is the highest paid Formula 1 driver, said that he is on a 25 million pounds a year contract until the end of next year and that the team has not yet started talks with him about a new contract from 2005. He also said that Ferrai have offered him the option ot extend the contract past 2004 and that he cannot see any other team he would like to race for in Formula 1. He is now waiting for the right moment to assess whether everything is exactly the way both he and Ferrari want and if they want to continue with their partnership.

19 March 2003 The FIA have confirmed that the Malaysian GP, scheduled for this weekend, will go ahead as planned even if the war with Iraq starts in the meantime.

19 March 2003 Barhein is being very vociferous about trying to get a GP in 2004. A delegation from the country is on its way to Malaysia, where a busy schedule of meetings with FIA representatives awaits. The parliament of Barhein has announced that the GP organisers have the full financial support of the government. Works to build a Formula 1 facility in the Al Manamah area started last Novbember and currently employ 1250 people.

18 March 2003 While M. Schumacher is "thinking" about Ferrari's offer to extend his contract past 2004, Williams have also shown an interest in signing the World Champion when he becomes available at the end of next season. Ferrari's offer cuts M. Schumacher's salary from 25 million pounds to 20 million. Patrick Head told The Sun that if it comes down to a bidding war for the driver, the Williams team will be there. M. Schumacher's younger brother Ralf is a driver in the Williams team already.

17 March 2003 The FIA has confirmed that the Malaysian GP will go ahead as scheduled, despite the looming Iraq war.

15 March 2003 Giancarlo Fisichella has denied rumours that he has already decided to part company with the Jordan team at the end of the season.

14 March 2003 The British GP is again at risk. The owners of race organisers Octagon Motorsport, Interpublic, have decided to put their motorsport assets up for sale. Octagon Motorsport, that also own Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Cadwell Park and other circuits, total of 40 million pounds in losses last year. Bernie Ecclestone told the BBC that if Octagon Motorsport fails to organise the race and nobody else can be found to step into their shoes, there will not be a British GP.

13 March 2003 Toyota's Cristiano Da Matta pushed to the front of the queue again in the Jerez tests. At Fiorano Felipe Massa clocked 122 laps on a F2002.

Jerez test times:

1. Cristiano Da Matta (Toyota) 1:18.991 - 73 laps 2. Alexander Wurz (McLaren) 1:19.525 - 56 laps 3. Marc Gene (Williams) 1:19.778 - 71laps 4. Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren) 1:20.232 - 56 laps 5. Takuma Sato (BAR) 1:21.144 - 60 laps

12 March 2003 Ferrari have decided to suspend the F2003-GA tests until after the Malaysian GP, following Badoer's accident yesterday.

11 March 2003 Luca Badoer suffered a massive crash in testing, after only a few laps on the F2003-GA at Mugello. Badoer was travelling at 200 km/h when a mechanical failure caused the car to go crashing into the barrier at the first bend at Arrabbiata. Badoer walked out of the car unaided, but was airlifted to hospital in Florence as a precaution. The car was badly damaged and was taken back to Maranello for repairs.

11 March 2003 Ferrari have offered M. Schumacher an extension to his contract, due to end in 2004. Ferrari is apparently offering 20 million pounds a year, but it is not known how long the proposed extension is. Willi Weber said that the reigning World Champion is considering the offer.

11 March 2003 Rubens Barrichello has given his version of the events that led to his crash on lap six of the Austrailian GP. The Brazilian said that the mandatory HANS device, which has received much criticism from several drivers, made him to lose concentration because of the pain it caused on his collarbone. David Coulthard has developed a padded support for the HANS device because of the same problem.

10 March 2003 A team insider has told British tabloid THe Sun that Villeneuve's coming into the pits on the same lap as Button could have been intentional and aimed at unsettling the young Briton. The insider said that Villeneuve had done the same thing to Heinz-Harald Frentzen a couple of times and that it seems to be his way of trying to out-psych a team-mate.

10 March 2003 Ferrari said that they do not intend to rush the introduction of the new F2003-GA after yesterday's Australian GP, in which the team's consecutive podium record was broken. The nw car is scheduled to be introduced at the San Marino GP and the plan has not changed.

9 March 2003 If FIA wanted action in 2003, action they got in the opening race, though it was down to the weather much as it was to the new regulations. The two Ferrari started in the lead, but Barrichello was into the wall and out as early as lap six. A number of mishaps, wrong tyre choices, drive-through penalties and detaching body parts shuffled the field several times. In the end, Ferrari's record of most consecutive podium finishes was finally stopped, as Coulthard sailed to a well-deserved win in front of Montoya and Räikkönen. M. Schumacher setlled for fourth place in front of Trulli, Frentzen, Alonso and R. Schumacher (from this year points are awarded to the first eight finishers).

Australian GP finishing times:

1. David Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) 1h 34'42"124 (average 194,868 km/h) 2. Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams-BMW) +8"675 3. Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren-Mercedes) +9"192 4. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) +9"482 5. Jarno Trulli (Renault) +38"801 6. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Sauber-Petronas) +43"928 7. Fernando Alonso (Renault) +45"074 8. Ralf Schumacher (Williams-BMW) +45"745 9. Jacques Villeneuve (BAR) +1'05"536 10. Jenson Button (BAR) +1'05"974 11. Jos Verstappen (Minardi-Cosworth) +1 lap 12. Giancarlo Fisichella (Jordan-Ford) +6 laps 13. Antonio Pizzonia (Jaguar-Cosworth) +6 laps

8 March 2003 The first starting grid of the 2003 season has been decided using the new qualifying rules. Despite having been unhappy M. Schumacher rounded off the qualifying session by clocking the fastest lap time. Barrichello, who was the last to go out, was barely two tenths of a second slower than his team mate, having also had to contend with debris left on the track by Räikkönen's damaged McLaren. The Finn took a trip on the grass during his flying lap and suffered a puncture on his rear left tyre, qualifying in only 15th place on the grid. He will be allowed to replace the punctured tyre, but the team will not be able to do any work on any damage that the car might have suffered. The second McLaren driver, Coulthard, did marginally better and qualified in 11th place. Montoya did considerably better than team mate R. Schumacher and will start from the second row of the grid, alongside the good Frentzen, who used up his BAR to full effect. The third row will be occupied by Panis on Toyota and Villeneuve on the second BAR.

Minardi decided to exploit the new regulations to the limit and Justin Wilson, the first driver to go out for the qualifying lap, drove straight into the pits, thus failing to set a time. The second Minardi driver, Jos Verstappen, did exactly the same, on the ground that both he and Wilson were likely to qualify at the back of the grid anyway and this way they will still start from the back of the grid, but the cars will not be impounded in the parc fermé, giving the mechanics more time to work on them. Paul Stoddart was adamant that he had checked the regulations and his team will be allowed to compete in tomorrow's race.

Australian GP Saturday qualifying session (starting grid):

1. M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'27"173 (average 218.999 km/h) 2. BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'27"418 3. MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'28"101 4. FRENTZEN Sauber B 1'28"274 5. PANIS Toyota M 1'28"288 6. VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'28"420 7. HEIDFELD Sauber B 1'28"464 8. BUTTON BAR Honda B 1'28"682 9. R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'28"830 10. ALONSO Renault M 1'28"928 11. COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'29"105 12. TRULLI Renault M 1'29"136 13. FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 1'29"344 14. WEBBER Jaguar M 1'29"367 15. RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'29"470 16. DA MATTA Toyota M 1'29"538 17. FIRMAN Jordan Ford B 1'31"242 18. PIZZONIA Jaguar M 1'31"723 19. VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B no time 20. WILSON Minardi Cosworth B no time

7 March 2003 Cristiano Da Matta started his Formula 1 racing career with two fines. First he was fined 2500 euros for speeding in the pits during the first free session, then he was fined another 2000 euros when he did the same thing 15 minutes later.

7 March 2003 The new Formula 1 season has started with the Friday qualifying in Melbourne. In accordance with the new rules the drivers put in a best lap to determine the order in whch they will go out in tomorrow's qualifying session, which will determine the starting grid. Not surprisingly ferrari topped the timetable. Surprisingly though, it was Barrichello who clocked the best time, ahead of Räikkönen and Villeneuve. Ruling World Champion M. Schumacher could only manage the fourth best time. The drivers will go out tomorrow in reverse order to today's result.

Australian GP Friday qualifying session:

1 BARRICHELLO Ferrari 1m26.372s 2 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes 1m26.551s 3 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 1m26.832s 4 M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m27.103s 5 BUTTON BAR Honda 1m27.159s 6 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m27.242s 7 ALONSO Renault 1m27.255s 8 PANIS Toyota 1m27.352s 9 TRULLI Renault 1m27.411s 10 MONTOYA Williams BMW 1m27.450s 11 DA MATTA Toyota 1m27.478s 12 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas 1m27.510s 13 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas 1m27.563s 14 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford 1m27.633s 15 WEBBER Jaguar 1m27.675s 16 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 1m28.266s 17 FIRMAN Jordan Ford 1m29.977s 18 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth 1m30.053s 19 PIZZONIA Jaguar 1m30.092s 20 WILSON Minardi Cosworth 1m30.479s

6 March 2003 Max Mosley cancelled the pre-race press conference in which he was expected to be the only speaker because of problems in his flight arrangements. Mosley will not be present in Australia for the whole weekend as a result. The announcement was made shortly before the conference was due to start in Melbourne.

6 March 2003 Minardi have presented their 2003 contender, the PS03, in Melbourne just hours before the start of the 2003 season. The team admitted that their finances are so tight that they have no margin for error. Driver Just Wilson has resorted to becoming a limited company in order to sell shares in himself and raise cash to bring private sponsorship to the team. Investors must commit a minimum of 500 pounds to the scheme. Any returns are tax-free for three years while shareholders are entitled to 10% of Wilson’s earnings up until 2012.

6 March 2003 Eddie Jordan has admitted that he would be prepapred to sell his cash-strapped team if he was convinced that it was in the best interests of the outfit. He also admitted that he did hold preliminary talks about selling out to Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz earlier this year. Previously he had denied the rumour. If he did have to sell, he would still want to be involved with the team.

6 March 2003 Gerhard Berger will not seek to continue in his position Co-Director of BMW Motorsport when his contract expires at the end of the 2003 season. The Austrian former GP winner wants to have more time to spend with his family. BMW will not seek a replacement for Berger and Theissen will become sole director in October.

5 March 2003 McLaren will start the 2003 season with a highly modified version of last year's MP4/17, the MP4/17D, which features new transmission, a new rear suspension package, a new aerodynamics package and the new front suspension that was incorporated at the end of 2002. The MP4/18, this year's contender, will debut during the European season.

4 March 2003 Paul Stoddart replied to Ron dennis' verbal attack against Minardi saying that McLaren should concentrate on trying to win the Championship instead of taking pot shot at small teams. Dennis had said that Minardi did not deserve the from the supposed fund established to assist privateer outfits as much as Jordan did, mainly because of Stoddart's public campaign for a bigger slice. Minardi has the smallest budget in the Formula 1 circus. Stoddart also complained that the political battles seem to be taking all his time.

3 March 2003 Bernie Ecclestone is pushing to put into place a new Concorde agreement. The current agreement was approved in the 90's and is valid until 2007, but recent controversies and the new regulations have shown that parts of it are obsolete. Ecclestone told British paper The Times: "The regulations do not reflect today's values and what we need to be doing now. We are bogged down with history and folklore." Ecclestone is prepapred to negotiate a new agreement with the teams, but he wants to see complete committment from all the outfits.

3 March 2003 The contenders have started to arrive at Melbourne for the start of the 2003 Formula 1 season. The first to arrive was ruling Champion Ferrari. The other teams are expected on Monday and Tuesday.

2 March 2003 The Sauber drivers, Nick Heidfeld and Heinz-Harald Frentzen are happy with the car, which they judge to be more consistent and easier to handle on the limit than last year's C21.

Last updated on by Federica Massagrande